Saturday, March 07, 2015

Jazz swing through Philly with a win

Philadelphia, PA -- Gordon Hayward scored 25 points and the Utah Jazz took control in the second half to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 89-83 on Friday.

Derrick Favors added 15 points and 10 rebounds and Rudy Gobert had 15 rebounds and nine points for the Jazz, who bounced back from a last-second loss in Boston on Wednesday to win for the fourth time in their last five games.

"It's hard to win games in the NBA," said Hayward. "This could have been an easy one for us to lay down, but I thought we came out and competed."

Philadelphia center Nerlens Noel filled the stat sheet with 10 points, 11 rebounds and six steals in the opener of a five-game homestand. But the Sixers dropped their fourth game in a row, falling to 1-9 in their last 10.

They blew a 16-point lead and lost 123-118 in overtime to Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday and lost another third-quarter lead in this one.

Hayward and Elijah Millsap scored four points each in an 18-5 run that pulled the Jazz out of a four-point hole and gave them a 64-55 lead going into the fourth quarter.

They stretched the advantage to 14 down the stretch and held off a Sixers push near the end.

"Their defense was very good," said Sixers coach Brett Brown of the difference in the second half.

"We missed a lot of shots that our shooters normally (make)."

An Isaiah Canaan 3-pointer in the final second gave him a team-high 16 points for the Sixers. Luc Mbah a Moute and Ish Smith added 14 points apiece and Thomas Robinson had 11 points and 12 rebounds in just 15 minutes off the bench.

Hayward scored 12 points in the first quarter but the Sixers took a 24-21 lead into the second and led by as many as nine points on the way to a 42-41 edge at halftime.

Notes: Trey Burke scored 10 points off the bench for Utah ... Sixers forward Jerami Grant left the game with back spasms ... Philly was 10-of-32 on 3-pointers ... The Jazz beat the Sixers 88-71 on Dec. 27 at home and have won five in a row in the series since Philadelphia's last victory on Nov. 16, 2012 ... The Sixers host Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta on Saturday ... The Jazz are 2-1 on a four-game road trip that ends Sunday in Brooklyn.

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